Drainage tile, clay, etc.



April 29, 1941. L. NEWMAN DRAINAGE TILE, CLAY, ETC

Filed June 12, 1940 Patented Apr. 29, 1941 aziaiu umrab STATES rarest orrica DRAINAGE TILE, CLAY, ETC. Lloyd L. Newman, Rockwood, Pa. Application June 12, 1940, Serial No. 340,169

1 Claim.

, one another to hold the drainage channel alined while permitting movement therein as required by settling ground conditions and the like after the assembly is laid.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the clam appended hereto.

In the drawing, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an assembly of two of the elements or tiles of the invention.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through the assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation illustrating the elements at the limit of their canted position.

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1, and

Figure 5 is an end view taken from the lug end of one of the elements according to the invention.

Referring particularly to the drawing the element according to the invention comprises a hollow body portion III which is generally of cylindrical shape and which maybe formed of anysuitable material such as terra-cotta or the like. The body I has a plain end I I. The opposite end l2 of the body II) is provided with connecting elements 13 in the form of lugs attached to the outside of the body l0 near the end l2. These lugs are preferably cast integrally with the body l0 although it is obvious that they may be secured in a variety of manners. As shown in Figure the lugs H are circurnferentially spaced apart. In the preferred form of the invention illustrated these lugs are three in number and are equally spaced apart. The inner faces Id of the lugs l3 are radially spaced from the extended longitudinal axis of the body In to an extent greater than the outer surface of said body l0. Furthermore, as shown best in Figure 3, the lugs l3 extend axially beyond the end l2 of the body I0 for a substantial distance. These single elements will therefore be seen to consist of a simple structure which may be cast or otherwise formed in the usual manner of such materials.

In use a number of these elements are assembled so as to form a continuous drainage channel or duct. The tiles are laid for example in a trench dug in a field or other area to be drained, a suitable slope being observed so as to permit flow of drainage by gravity to the discharge end of the system. Drainage from the area to be drained enters the tiles through the joints therebetween. For this purpose the art has employed various expedients to produce a joint of the requisite connecting character and at the same time one which allows a maximum access of drainage fluid into the tiles. For example the typical prior art drainage tile is of the well known bell type in which one end is cylindrical and the other end is provided with a bell-shaped mouth which will fit loosely over the cylindrical end of an abutting tile The problem connected with the joint between tiles in a subdrainage system is complicated by a number'of factors. In the first place the drainage fluid carries large amounts of silt which may be in the form of sand, small pebbles, vegetable matter and the like. Such material will deposit rapidly in any sort of a constructed passage and will build up around such deposit and eventually block the drainage system. For this reason the bell-mouth tile has not been entirely satisfactory because of the tortuous nature of the entrance for the drainage into the tile. Also in operation the drainage must enter the tile from all sides of the joint. The hydrostatic head of the drainage water causes it to rise from beneath the joint as well as to enter from all sides. It is therefore eminently desirable to have a. joint which will remain open on all sides with the minimum obstruction. The prior art joints have not solved this problem in a satisfactory manner.

A further factor in connection with these subdrainage systems is that the elements themselves being laid in the ground are subject to movement as the ground settles and washes. The joints between the elements therefore must be flexible. Since the customary material for making these tiles for reasons of economy is a bake clay such as terra-cotta the connectors do not have great strength. It has been a problem in this art therefore to provide a joint which will he possessed of the necessary strength but which will yet provide the requisite flexibility.

I have found that providing a plurality of spaced lugs around the outside of one end of a subdrainage element I can make a joint between two such elements which will remain open on all sides for the entrance of water, and which will not offer sufficient obstruction to cause clogging by deposited silt. These lugs are plural in numher, that is three or more, and are spaced apart sufliciently so that the elements cannot be displaced transversely from one another. The lugs are spaced radially so as to engage loosely about the end of a second subdrainage element. Preferably the lugs are of sufficient length so that after assembly the elements cannot be separated except by axial displacement.

Referring again to the drawing and particularly to Figure 3 it will be seen that the lugs l3 loosely overlie the end of the body ID of the adjoining element. The inner faces ll of the lugs l3 are spaced a considerable distance from the outer face of the body II]. By reference to Figure 3 it will be seen that the lugs l3 are of sufficient length to prevent separation of the elements by canting and that the only manner in which the elements can be separated is by a displacement along their axes.

Figure 3 also shows the effect of employing three equally spaced lugs to form the connecting means. The elements are held'in alinement and cannot be disconnected by any form of transverse displacement. This factor is of great importance in maintaining the continuity of the drainage channel since any displacement which results in a disalinement of the elements will quickly lead to clogging the channel by permitting debris of various types to deposit at the broken joint.

The assembly illustrated in Figure 1 is the preferred form; thatis, the tiles are laid with the lug ends l2 of each element uppermost in the drainage channel. This disposition of the elements causes the joints between adjacent elements to be maintained by gravity and any settling of the entire line of elements toward the low points of the drainage system will result in keeping the jointsintact rather than the reverse.

The lugs l3 may be made of various widths as will be appreciated but preferably their extension will be limited soas not to interfere greatly with the amount of free joint space. It will be understood that it is more difllcult for drainage to pass through a tortuous path such as that provided under the lugs or in the prior art under the bell mouth than to pass directly across the thickness of the tile wall into the drainage channel.

It will be understood that the form of the invention which I have disclosed is my preferred form but the invention is not to be taken as limited thereto. As explained the number of connecting lugs is subject to variation and likewise the relative spacing of such lugs is subject to variation. The body It) and lugs l3 will preferably be formed of the same material since it is decidingly more economical to produce them as a unit. The invention is therefore not to be restricted to the details of the illustrated form but is to be limited only by the scope of the following claim:

What is claimed is:

A drainage conduit comprising a plurality of hollow sections disposed in spaced communication with each other to receive seepage of liquid between the spaces, each section being provided with at least three connecting members disposed around the periphery thereof and extending beyond the end of same in ofiset relation to the periphery of the section, said connecting members adapted to overlap the opposite ends of the next adjacent section to flexibly connect the section against transverse separation while maintaining the spaced communicating relation of the sections.

LLOYD L. NEWMAN. 

